“GEMINI IX EARTH-SKY VIEW -- Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan took this closeup view of the Gemini IX command pilot’s window during his extravehicular activity on the Gemini IX mission. The umbilical tether extends from Cernan to the open pilot’s hatch. Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico are in the background.”
One of the few photographs taken by Cernan during his “spacewalk from Hell”. Per David Azbell/Facebook (Space Hipsters group):
“In his memoir, “The Last Man on the Moon,” astronaut Gene Cernan wrote in vivid detail about the spacewalk from Hell that he experienced on the Gemini 9A mission with Tom Stafford.
The mission parameters for the extravehicular activity called for Cernan to test an Astronaut Maneuvering Unit, which was similar to the device that shuttle astronaut Bruce McCandless would successfully fly in an untethered spacewalk almost 20 years later.
Because the AMU used hydrogen peroxide propellant that produced corosive gases and in order to protect him from thermal heat and micrometeorites, Cernan was required to wear special pants made of woven steel and sheets of mylar throughout the three-day mission. The thickness and bulk of the pants made the already cramped and uncomfortable two-man Gemini capsule, which was similar in size to the front seat of a Volkswagen Beetle, even more uncomfortable for Cernan. His crew mate, Stafford, wore the traditional and more comfortable Gemini pressure suit.
Cernan’s spacewalk went badly from the moment it started when his EVA pressure suit inflated to the point that he could not bend his limbs to any discernible degree. He began tumbling wildly as soon as he left the capsule, and aside from providing life-giving oxygen, his umbilical cord proved to be a hindrance and hazard. He likened it to “wrestling an octopus.”
While making his way to the back of the Gemini capsule, where the AMU was stored, and attempting to strap himself into the unit, Cernan’s heart rate rose to 180 beats per minute. His rigid limbs and lack of leverage made strapping himself into the AMU and adjusting its various valves and connections almost impossible.
Sweat caused the visor on his helmet to fog, which rendered him essentially blind in space.
Fearing for Cernan’s life, Stafford and Mission Control ordered an end to the EVA, and Cernan felt his way back to the door of the spacecraft, though the lack of handholds and footholds made his sightless trek painfully slow. Upon reaching the upraised hatch, returning to his seat proved extremely difficult because of his ballooned and over-pressurized suit.
Once safely inside, Cernan reported terrible burning pains on his back, and it was later discovered that the insulated EVA covering he’d worn throughout the mission had ripped, which allowed the intense heat from the sun to burn him.
Before returning to Earth, Stafford and Cernan jettisoned the unused AMU, which had cost $10 million to develop and build, because its explosive fuel package posed too much of a risk during reentry.
Following reentry, it was claimed that Cernan’s exertions had caused his boots to hold one pound of sweat, which was poured out like water from a pitcher.”
Additionally, amongst many:
airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/almost-blind-and-com...
Credit: Smithsonian NASM website
And:
www.americaspace.com/2016/06/05/only-tom-really-knows-50-...
Credit: AmericaSpace website
Excellent:
www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/001323.html
www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/000459.html
Both above credit: collectSPACE website
Per the Americaspace article “Cernan inadvertently kicked the Hasselblad camera that Stafford had been using to photograph the EVA and it drifted off into space.” However, per the discussion thread in the second collectSPACE link, a post-flight corrective action list listed “one roll of EVA film and a 5mm wide angle lens for 16mm camera were lost during EVA ingress.”
Regardless, for multiple reasons, there are very few photographs of Cernan’s EVA, taken by either astronaut. As such, it’s reasonable to assume that this photograph was likely taken within a few minutes of the photograph taken by Stafford, linked to below. In fact, the Maurer 70mm camera used by Stafford can be seen in the Command Pilot window of the spacecraft. As you can see, its lens is very near the window's edge, seen in Stafford's photo, thereby (I think) supporting my conclusion.
